Putin’s Russia is now virtually defenseless. The prospect of an uprising gives the Kremlin chills

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One of the main justifications Vladimir Putin gave for launching his so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine was to secure Mother Russia’s borders. According to the Russian president’s twisted vision, the country was at risk because of NATO’s insatiable appetite to expand its influence in territories that Moscow has historically considered to be under its own sphere of influence, writes The Telegraph.

In this context, Ukraine has been seen as particularly problematic, as its pro-Western government has openly expressed its desire to join NATO and the European Union. Putin was so outraged that a democratically elected government was trying to follow its own political destiny that he sought to overthrow the Ukrainian government and install a pro-Kremlin puppet regime in its place.

It will therefore be a matter of great concern to the Russian dictator that, having failed to achieve his military objectives in Ukraine, he now finds himself in a situation where his own country is the target of a special military operation by a group of well-armed insurgents who appear to have succeeded in attacking the Belgorod border region.

Whether, as Moscow claims, the attack was carried out by Ukrainian forces or, as seems more likely, by Russian anti-Putin partisans, the fact that Russian border towns are now vulnerable to attack will be a bitter pill for the Kremlin to swallow .

The prospect of an armed uprising against Putin is no longer impossible

Given that – according to Putin – Russia should be a military superpower, the country should at least be able to defend its own borders. For most of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has been largely immune to Ukraine’s attacks, not least because the Biden administration, as the recent leak of sensitive Pentagon files revealed, pressured Kiev not to deploy operations in Putin’s territory for fear of causing a wider escalation of the conflict.

More recently, however, the Ukrainians have demonstrated a willingness to take the fight directly to the heart of Russia. Apart from last month’s drone strike against the Kremlin, there have been attacks against key Russian targets such as ammunition depots and fuel supplies.

The prospect of an armed uprising against Putin may now seem far-fetched. But that could change quickly if Ukraine manages to inflict a humiliating defeat against the Kremlin, an outcome that is perfectly feasible if Kiev’s Western allies are willing to provide the weapons it needs to prevail on the battlefield.

Many of the anti-Russian partisan groups have ties to the Ukrainian military and could be part of an anti-Putin uprising in the event of a Ukrainian victory.

The ease with which attackers were able to cross the Russian border during the Belgorod attack highlights the weakness of Russia’s defenses, a condition that is not limited to Russia’s border with Ukraine.

The need to reinforce its depleted combat units has seen Moscow withdraw a substantial number of its forces from the northern and eastern border regions: Estonians should no longer have sleepless nights at the prospect of Russian tanks advancing on Tallinn.

The withdrawal of Russian forces from the east is potentially even more problematic, as it paves the way for China to revise its long-held territorial ambitions, The Telegraph writes.